Immortal Empires

Greek Mythology

Demi-Gods: Not as powerful as a God but more powerful than a mortal.

For Emidius, the demi-God in Children of Dionysus, the name comes from the Greek meaning, demi-god so that worked perfectly. For years I’d wanted to incorporate a demi-god into an urban fantasy story having grown up fascinated with films and books like Jason and the Argonauts.

Although the films have aged since the advent of CGI, I still catch them occasionally and remember that for a child’s imagination they were mind blowing and took me into a realm so much more interesting than my ordinary, somewhat unpleasant day to day existence. Maybe that's why I loved them so much, they took me away from reality and into a fantastical world.

For Emidius, who we meet in Children of Dionysus, I always thought of her as a metaphysical being, a culmination of energy, who was once mortal. She’s not really a physical being but she can take on a physical presence using energy, much like the demons in my books who only become a physical manifestation once accepted by the fear of a mortal- almost as if hitchhiking on the mortal’s energy.

Not that Emidius needs that, she’s more a force of nature combined able to control the elements, wipe out a species but as she’s thousands of years old, the concerns of mere underworlders are not hers.

She’s seen many of them live and die over the centuries and looks upon mortals, much like humans look upon insects. Fragile, short lives and protective of their vulnerable nature. Her indifference is mainly through lack of interest, mortals or immortals, neither changes much over time save to say how they live.

Jason and the Argonauts, (Link attached!!) though it had a load of amazing creatures’ and ideas, the Harpies were to me as a kid the most awe inspiring.

They filled me with dread but were too fantastical not to look at. Creatures from another realm, malevolent and deadly and terrifying to look at. Then there were the statues of the gods, the Titans who came to life and hunted Hercules for stealing from their treasure trove.

Sometimes people ask me if I’ll ever run out of ideas…I think you can safely say that’s a no! And remember in Dark Nephilim when Anthony created a sculpture of a Harpy? Here’s one I made a hundred years ago.